Assassin
by Numb3rsfan
Summary: Someone is out to get the Eppes brothers! While getting information from a drug lord, Don gets seriously wounded, and then, without his big brother around to protect him, Charlie become’s the assassin’s next target.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue.

The man placed the phone back in its cradle and went over to his three year old fax machine and waited.  
The call requesting his services had come in minutes before and already the man was gathering as much intel as he could on his next two victims.

The darkening sky and incoming thunderstorm reflected his mood as the fax machine started squawking and two pieces of paper, with one picture on each page was quickly printed and deposited in the in tray.

The assassin picked up the first picture and read the short bio of the LA FBI agent.  
"Special Agent Don Eppes. Previous assignments Quantico and Albuquerque New Mexico. Left Albuquerque for personal reasons and now works out of the LA office."

The paper went on to list Don's height, build, hair and eye color and other such information.

"FBI agents. You've killed one, you've killed em' all." The man said as he sat down that piece of paper and grabbed the other one.

The man on this piece of paper was younger than Don Eppes by several years. His hair was brown and curly and the smug grin on his face reminded the assassin of his care free years as a teenager, before his brother had introduced him to the life of crime.

"Charles Eppes. Referred by many as Charlie. Credited and well known professor of applied mathematics at CalSci. He is known for his theorem called the Eppes Convergence.

"In his spare time he consults for his brother at the FBI, and he also has consulted for the NSA on a number of their more secret cases."

The bio went on to include Charlie's height, hair and eye color and even the name of his closest friends at CalSci.

"This is going to be to easy." The man said as he reached under the table and took out his big suitcase which housed his 9mm pistol and sniper rifle.  
Each weapon had seen a ton of action in the man's ten year killing spree, which he had been forced to end five years ago, when it became apparent that the state police had been on to him.

Snorting, the man took out his sniper rifle and began to load it.

Chapter One

Charlie stood in the garage working on one of his many variables in his algorithm that he was using to help Don with his latest case.

The late night bugs chirped and whistled outside as Charlie continued to work into the early morning hours, but he paid them no mind as his mind kept wandering over the details and photos of this latest case.

At first it had been believed that a wild animal had ripped out the throats of four thirteen year old girls, but after closer examination by the coroner, it was determined that the girls were brutally murdered by someone with a machete and fish hooks to make the jagged edges.

Charlie shivered as he remembered going with Don to the crime scene.

"_Alright Charlie. I want you to stay in the car." Don said as they pulled to a stop at the end of Holly Lane._

_The street was the last residential area before the road headed off into the mountains._

_The area was nice, quiet and secluded enough for a murder to go days without drawing attention._

_Charlie took in everything around him as his mind filled with numbers. Possible hiding places, plans of attack, escape routes. The jolting of the car as Don climbed out shocked Charlie back into the real world and automatically, Charlie opened the door and followed Don towards the police and the yellow 'DO NOT CROSS' tape that was everywhere._

_Don, noticing that his brother was following him turned and said, "Charlie, I asked you to wait in the car."_

"_Don, I need to see this. In order for my analysis to be sound, I actually need to inspect everything. Sure, you could do it, but you could miss something." Charlie began, but Don held up his hands, not wanting Charlie to go into a long, boring speech, especially when an LA cop approached them asking them to move back or show some identification._

_Don took out his ID and said, "Agent Eppes, FBI. This is my brother, Charlie Eppes." Don said, pointing towards his brother who had already cross the yellow tape and was heading towards the barn, where the murders had taken place._

_The police officer looked at Don's badge and then glanced at Don and then his brother before nodding that they could proceed._

_Don closed his ID and stuck it back into his pocket as he followed his brother._

_Charlie, on the other hand had already entered the barn, and by the time Don had entered, Charlie was as white as a ghost and was visibly trying to hold his emotions in check. _

_Don walked up to him and said, "Charlie, this is exactly the reason why I wanted you to wait in the car. I didn't want to have to put you through this." _

_Charlie nodded, but still didn't make any move to leave his spot on the hay covered floor._

_Whenever Charlie froze and shut down, he could never do things half way, he had to go all the way._

_Shutting down both hearing and sight. He would just stand there, like a statue until someone dragged him away and or poured cold water on him._

_Charlie usually snapped right out of it with the water bit. He usually yelled at first, then the yelling turned into confusion, the confusion into silent acceptance and the silent acceptance would turn into Charlie shutting down and working himself to the point of exhaustion in the garage of his home._

_Don and his father had brought Charlie back from the brink on numerous occasions, and this time appeared to be another occasion that Don would have to spend bringing Charlie back from 'his bubble.' _

_As Don moved to touch his brother's shoulder, Megan, David and Colby entered the barn looking for Don._

"_Don. We've interviewed the parents and they say that their children were never depressed." Megan said._

"_So, they didn't give any cause for their children to run away?" Don asked._

_Megan shook her head as she handed Don the case file that she had brought._

_Don recalled the six minute news clip of the four children._

_Melanie Sanchez, Crystal Barrows, Amanda Brinkley and Susan O'Neill all ran away in the dead of night on April 22. All four went to Carl Albert public school, and all four were very close friends._

_The friends of the girls didn't have much to say, always repeating that they spent a lot of their time together and were whispering all the time._

"_Is Charlie alright?"_

_Colby's question brought Don out of his musings and he looked to see Charlie, as if on auto-pilot begin to move out of the barn, using the exit on the other side of the barn._

_Don could see that his brother was still white as a sheet and he was shaking all over, probably from shock at seeing the terribly blood stained floor._

_Cursing softly at his failure to notice Charlie's condition, Don followed his little brother out of the barn and towards the small water trough that lay empty off to the side, or at least they thought it was empty._

_When Charlie reached it and looked inside, he let out a small gasp, turned away, ran into the brush and threw up all of the 'food' that he had had for breakfast._

_Donuts on top of French toast, orange juice and milk didn't sound all that appetizing to Don, but heck, if Charlie liked them, then so be it!_

"_I'll go get him." Colby said as he headed off into the tall wheat stocks after the younger Eppes, while Don also looked inside the trough and glanced at the grisly remains._

_One small glance and Don knew why Charlie had taken off at a run._

_The inside of the trough was covered in dry blood, as was the different size bones that were in there._

_Though Don couldn't be sure, he guessed that some of those bones had to be canine. Dog bones mixed in with the human ones._

"_Oh, God." Megan said as she also viewed the carnage, "Charlie so did not need to see that!"_

_Don nodded his head, tore his gaze away from the trough and took in a big gulp of air to try and calm his own stomach._

_No matter how many crime scene's he went to, no matter how much blood he saw, Don still found himself fighting his stomach from time to time._

_The crunching of wheat made Don turn to see Colby, with one hand of support on Charlie's shoulder as the still to pale mathematician came out from the stocks._

"_You alright Charlie?" Don asked._

_In answer, Charlie just headed back towards Don's car and the safety of the A/C, which he knew would help calm his angered stomach._

The slamming of the garage door leading from the garage to the house made Charlie look up to see his brother gazing at him with worry in his eyes.

"Maybe you should call it quits for tonight, buddy." Don suggested as Charlie wiped a bead of sweat from his face.

Don's suggestion angered Charlie a little as his mind flared back to the time when they were kids.

Don was always bossing him around, even in front of his friends! Ordering him to do this or that, or to just lay down whatever he was doing to go to some of Don's chores or to lie for his big brother to his parents!

"I'll call it quits when I feel like it, Don!" Charlie shot back as he returned to the safety of his work.

"Alright man, quit being so defensive!" Don replied as he held up his hands in mock surrender.

The venom in his brother's voice scared and hurt Don at the same time.

Sure, his brother and he had gotten into fights when they were younger, and they had a few scrapes since Charlie had started consulting for him, but Charlie's apparent anger now was something new to Don, and it made him shiver for a second.

"Is there something I should know about?" Don asked.

Charlie sighed and shook his head before he replied, "No, no. Just, leave me alone… please. Go talk to dad, or something, just please go."

Don could tell that something was going on with his brother, but he wasn't about to nag Charlie and make him spill the beans.

Don had learned from past experience that backing Charlie into a personal corner like that was not a good thing. When Charlie is backed into a corner, he fights back, and in a mean and heartless way.

"Alright, well I'll be here awhile if you need to talk about anything." Don said as he turned and reentered the house.

Once Don was gone, Charlie placed his chalk on the small desk and lowered his head.

He hadn't meant to blow up like that at his big brother because he certainly didn't need big brother Donny breathing down his neck and watching him like a hawk just because Charlie had made his suspicious.

Charlie shivered and gulped when the walls of the garage seemed to close in around him.

Seeing that he was having a panic attack of sorts, Charlie grabbed his bike and wheeled it outside into the moonlight.

Glancing first left and then right, Charlie jumped on his bike and rode off.

He needed to get away from it all. Get away and think about things.

Since he knew these streets like the back of his hand, Charlie didn't worry about hitting anything as he calmly rode towards CalSci and the safety of his classroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

With his office door closed and locked behind him, Charlie allowed himself to physically and emotionally collapse in his chair.

Sometimes his big brother really knew how to tick him off and it looked like to Charlie, that Don had finally succeeded!

Grumbling, Charlie pulled out the small, portable television that he kept hidden away in his office and switched it on.

Channel 4's early morning news cast was on and the topic of discussion instantly got Charlie's attention as the headline picture of the man made Charlie's blood run cold.

"Our next story takes us to Pasadena California where 34 year old Shaun Douglas was caught sending out a hit on the prison's fax machine. As of yet, the Pasadena police haven't figured out who the hit man is, or who his next targets will be but you can be assured that they will.

Shaun Douglas was arrested six months ago on a drug dealing and rape charge. The FBI was the agency to make the arrest and so far no comment has been made from the FBI in regard to this new threat. Megan, back to you." The news reporter said.

Charlie switched off the television and just sat there, staring at his hands, for he had a vague impression on who Mr. Douglas' next victim's would be.

He remembered the Douglas case just like it was yesterday, for Charlie remembered that it was he who had cracked the code and had allowed Don's team to make the arrest.

Charlie had been there when the arrest was made, and after Douglas had caught sight of him, he had promised Charlie that someday soon, he and his family would pay for this mistake!

'_I've got to warn Don!' _Charlie thought as he slid the television back into its small hidey hole.

Their early argument stopped Charlie in his tracks.

"What if he doesn't want to talk to me?" Charlie asked himself as his hands stood poised, ready to grab his cell phone and hit his brother's number.

Finally he decided that his brother's life was more important than the argument, Charlie took out his cell phone and dialed his brother's number before he realized that Don's phone had needed to be recharged after Don had accidentally left it on for two nights.

Charlie was about to hang up when Don's cell-phone picked up and the word, "Eppes." flitted through the reciever.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

David Ballard tightened the scope on his sniper rifle as he took another glance at the Eppes house, where inside he could see Don and his father talking at the kitchen table.

Talking about what, David didn't know or care about.

All he cared about was killing Don and his kid brother and getting his money before he hightailed it out of the country.

The fax that he had recieved from Shaun Douglas was very explicite in what he wanted done to Don and Charlie.

First, he wanted to scare the FBI agent, which was what David was going to do tonight, then in the morning when Don and his team go in to speak to a drug lord who supposedly would have some information about the assassian, that's when David would kill Don.

After that, David would head over to CalSci, kidnap Charlie and kill him somewhere else.

It was the perfect plan.

David smirked as his left eye closed, so his right eye, his dominite eye, could clearly target Don.

Suddenly, Don rose from his chair and walked out of David's field of view while his hand went to his belt to grab his cell-phone.

Cursing, David quickly got into another position and readied to fire his weapon.

----------------------------------

Don had been talking to his father about Charlie, when suddenly Don's cell-phone rang.

Sighing, Don rose, grabbed his cell phone and walked into the living room.

"Eppes." He said into the reciever.

"Don?" Charlie asked.

"What? You talkin' to me now?" Don asked his little brother.

"Listen Don, I'm a...I'm sorry about earlier, I just..I needed to be alone to think." Charlie said as he swallowed nervously from his classroom at CalSci.

"That's alright buddy." Don replied as he took a seat on the couch.

"Don, you know Shaun Douglas?" Charlie asked.

The name sounded familiar to Don. After thinking about it for a moment, he remembered the case.

"The drug dealing rapist. Sure I remember him. What about him?" Don asked.

"I just heard on the news that the prison guards caught him sending out a hit list." Charlie said.

"Yeah, so what?" Don asked.

"Well, when you arrested him, Shaun Douglas always said that he would make you pay for what you did." Charlie reminded.

Don sighed audibly as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Listen Charlie, I'll.." Don began, but that was as far as he got.

The window right in front of him suddenly shattered and Don felt the wind rushing by his face as a bullet embedded itself in the wall right by his head.

"WHOA!" Don said as he jumped back from the window and wall, nearly dropping his cellphone in the process.

"Don? Don you there?" Charlie asked into his cellphone.

"Listen Charlie, I'll call you right back." Don said as he snapped his cellphone closed and took out his gun.

Carefully he looked out the window, looking for the sniper.

Not seeing anyone, he quickly alerted his team of what had happened and requested that they come to the house ASAP.

By the doorway Alan Eppes was frantic. Repeatedly asking Don what had happened and asking him if he was alright.

Don assured his father that he was fine and that Alan should back away and out of the living room.

Within minutes Megan, David and Colby arrived at the house, along with a couple of investigators.

Don explained to them what had happened and watched as Colby looked at the hole in the wall, while David and Megan took a look outside.

"Well, whoever the sniper was, he's long gone by now. Didn't leave a trace." David said as he made his way back into the house.

"So, you were standing right there," Colby said, pointing towards the wall, "You're father was in the kitchen, what about Charlie? Where was he?"

"I was on the phone with Charlie. He had gone back to CalSci earlier, and he had just called me and told me about Shaun Douglas, and his little hit list. I think Charlie thinks that the hit list is for me." Don replied.

"He maybe right. It's worth checking out." Megan said.

Don was just walking over to the window when his cellphone rang again.

Walking back to the couch where he had dropped it, Don grabbed his cellphone and flipped up the reciever.

"Eppes." He said.

A sinister voice replied, "Well, how did you injoy that little display Eppsie? What were you're thoughts as the bullet went by you're head?"

"Who is this?" Don asked.

"Who I am is none of you're concern. I think you're main concern right now would be you're brother. He's all alone over there at CalSci. So alone...so vunerable. It would be so easy to pull the trigger and end his pitiful little existance right now." The sinister voice said.

"What do you want from me?" Don asked.

"What I want from you? I want to see you and you're brother in a box in the ground." The voice replied coldly.

Don's hands shook with anger as he continued to listen to the sniper's threats towards him and Charlie.

"Well, I have to go now. Say goodbye to you're brother." The sniper ended.

"Wait!" Don said, but then the sound of the dial was heard.

Gulping, Don speed dialed his brother's number.

He listened to it ring twice, and then nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Charlie gulped as Don hung up his cell-phone.

He had heard the bullet hit the wall, as well as Don's yelp of "WHOA!"

The newscasters words about a hit list flittered through Charlie's mind as Don told him that he would call him later.

Now Charlie sat at his desk, trying to think about a math problem...any math problem, just something to get his mind off the fact that Don was in trouble.

Minutes past by, minutes in which Charlie ran through worst case senerios, senerios in which Don had been seriously hurt or even killed.

_'Maybe some music will help._ Charlie thought as he took his IPOD and headphones out of desk drawer.

Putting his headphones on, Charlie turned on his IPOD and selected a playlist.

Shortly the sound of Rushlow's song _I Can't be your Friend_ filtered through the headphones.

As the music continued, Charlie's nerves calmed down until he felt himself relaxing and tapping his fingers to the beat.

When the song ended, Charlie dimly heard his cell-phone start to ring.

"Don?" Charlie whispered as he reached for the phone.

What happened next shook Charlie to his core.

Once minute the phone was within his reach, all pristine, shiny and in good working order, the next minute, the phone was blown off the table were it fell to the floor!

Charlie jumped back and looked at his cell-phone which was now sporting a bullet sized hole on it's surface!

The terror which Charlie had felt earlier came back one hundred fold!

Slowly he sank to the ground, pulling his knees in as he buried his face in them.

His sobs were the only noises in the room, besides that of the IPOD which still lay on his desk, spouting music out of the headphones.

---------------------------------------

Don went pale as the cell-phone's dial tone faded and the 'If you'd like to make a call, please hang up a dial again,' message sounded in his ear.

"He's not answering!" Don said to no one in particular.

Megan and David, who had been interviewing Alan, turned towards Don as he hung up his cell-phone.

"What's wrong Don?" Colby asked from his place at the wall.

Since Don didn't tell them about the sniper's phone call, they had no idea how worried Don was.

"I'll...I'll be back later." Don said as he rushed outside.

He didn't want to explain things to his father or his team.

Explanations took to long, besides, Charlie didn't have the time to wait.

If he had been hit he could be bleeding on his classroom floor, or worse he could be...No! Don would never think that way.

Charlie was alive, he had to be. If Charlie was dead, then Don would have nothing left to live for.

His brother was everything to him. Charlie was his mind and his conscious in the office and out. Charlie was the glue that held Don's life in check.

Don knew that this had not always been, especially a few years ago, when he had lost touch with his brother. But, when their mom got sick, it was the event that brought them back together.

He hated that the reason he had ever come back was because his mom had taken ill, that he hadn't come back of his own accord, but what was done was done.

Street lights, buildings, pedestrians.

They all passed him without giving his car a second glance as Don drove towards CalSci.

The math department was dark. It wouldn't see any business until the morning when the students arrived.

Maybe this was the reason why Charlie had come here...to be alone.

Don exited his car and jogged up the stairs and entered the building.

Quickly he went up one flight of stairs, turned two corners and came to a stop outside his brother's office.

The name 'Professer Charles Eppes' was stamped in gold letters above the door.

The letters were brighter than usual, so Don speculated that it had been restamped earlier in the week.

With shaking hands, Don turned the knob and slowly opened the door.

The light was on, but Charlie was there at the chalkboards, or at his desk.

A quick look around the room revealed nothing to tell Don where Charlie was.

He turned to leave when his ears picked up the music coming from Charlie's IPOD.

Turning back around, Don went over to the desk and picked up the small, silver IPOD.

The song that was currently playing was _It's My Life_ by _Bon Jovi._

Don smiled as he listened to the song.

It was a favorite and much loved song of the Eppes brothers!

After the song ended, Don switched off the IPOD and laid it back down on the desk.

That was when a small silver glint caught his eye.

Whatever it was, it was on the floor.

Kneeling, Don reached over and picked up the thing that had once been Charlie's cell-phone.

The flawless finish of the cell-phone was ruined by the bullet hole that went right through the phone!

"Charlie." Don muttered as he stood up.

A small gasp for breath took Don towards the chalkboards.

There, underneath one was the shaking, sobbing form of Charles Eppes.

"Charlie!" Don said in amazement as he knelt down and placed a comforting hand on Charlie's shoulders.

The sound of Charlie's sobbing tapered off and slowly, the dark, curly hair lifted, and the red, puffy eyes stared into Don's cool, brown ones.

"Hey buddy, you arn't hit are you?" Don asked.

It took a minute for Charlie to comprehend Don's question.

"N.no, I'm ok." Charlie muttered, more to himself than to Don.

"Come on, let's get you up off the cold floor." Don suggested as he grasped Charlie's arms and helped to raise him up.

Charlie stood shakily as his big brother's hands grasped his arms and held him up.

"Are you alright?" Don asked him.

Charlie wanted to laugh at the obsurdity of this question.

Of course he was not alright! How could he be alright when he just had a close encounter with a bullet from a sniper rifle!

Instead of saying this, Charlie just grasped Don in a semi death grip, semi assurance pat on the shoulder and whispered, "I'll be fine."

Don didn't trust his brother's words, since Charlie's complexion was still a little shocky.

"Come on Charlie, let's go home." Don insisted as he began to lead his brother out of the room.

Outside the window, David Ballard smirked as he watched the touching scene unfold.

Don had found Charlie crying on the floor like the small, idiotic brat he was!

"This is really touching!" David said with obvious sarcasm as Don took Charlie out of the room.

David couldn't want until the morning, when Agent Eppes' life would end before his eyes!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Charlie sighed with relief as he entered his home. The events of the past hour still haunted Charlie and probably would for awhile.

Megan, Colby and David were still there gathering evidence, while the rest of the investigators had already left the house.

"Charlie." Megan greeted when she saw who had entered the house so suddenly.

Charlie nodded a greeting to her, but didn't say anything as he made his way into the kitchen, ignoring the glances from David Sinclair and Colby Granger.

"What's buggin him?" Colby asked as Don stepped into the house and shut the door.

"Charlie just had a close encounter with a bullet." Don said matter-of-factly as he approached his team.

Everyone on his team quicky gave Don a double glance as they tried to process his words.

"Could you repeat that again?" Colby asked, not believing what he had heard.

"You heard me, Granger. Someone shot at Charlie while he was at CalSci." Don said.

"Is he alright?" Megan asked as she glanced at the kitchen, imagining Charlie sitting at the table, his head resting on the surface..

"Physically he's fine, but his cell-phone will never be the same again." Don replied with a fake grin.

"What about emotionally? Remember a few months ago when that man shot up the office? Charlie himself was nearly shot, and because of that he shut down." Megan said.

Don nodded his head as he recalled that morning.

He and his team and been questioning a known sex offender when all hell had broken loose.

One minute Charlie was explaining a piece of the case to him, the next minute the dry-erase board was sporting a new hole in its surface!

Don had pushed Charlie to the ground with strict orders to stay put.

After the shootout was over, Charlie had exited the bull pen with his laptop clutched tightly to his chest.

At first Don had been worried that Charlie had been hit, so he had started to pry the laptop away from Charlie, but Charlie tugged it back and insisted that he hadn't been hit.

When the building had been cleared, Don had been briefed by Megan outside the building.

When Don had caught Charlie staring at nothing with a lost look on his face, Don had gone over to talk to him.

Charlie still looked dazed and scared about what had happened.

For Charlie, the only way to deal with what had happened was to leave the scene, go to CalSci or his home and bury himself in math, which for the most part was what he had done.

Don still remembered Charlie's haunted look as he had clutched the laptop to his chest. That look still scared him at night whenever he dreamed about that incident.

In his dreams, Charlie had been shot and killed or paralyized and Charlie's words always remained the same, "Why did you let this happen to me Donny? It's you're fault, it's all you're fault!"

By then Don would wake up, sweat drenching him as he fought to calm his beating heart.

While Megan was talking to Don about Charlie, Charlie was seated at the kitchen table, tracing the scratches that were on it's surface.

He knew what he should be doing, working on the N vrs NP thing, but he had promised Don awhile back that he wouldn't work on that if he was upset over something, and Charlie's word was good.

If he promised he wouldn't do something, he wouldn't. He would keep his promise...for the most part.

Images of what had happened at his office kept flashing through his mind.

The sound of breaking glass, his cell-phone which was now still laying on his office floor with a bullet hole in it!

With trembling hands, Charlie reached over, grabbed a notebook and a pencil.

Math gave him something to do, and while what he was about to work on wasn't P vrs NP, it would still get the job done.

It would still calm him down.

---------------------------------

The fake FBI case file slammed closed as David Ballard loaded it and a bunch of other files into his van to get them ready to be transported to the FBI building.

When Don got a hold of the file, he would order his team to go to Drixco Plaza to pick up an Arthur Sato, who owns a drug company. The file would state that he would have some information for Don and his team, and David Ballard knew that Don would by the fake statement and come looking for Arthur, and by then, Don's life would be in David's hands, to do with as he pleased.

After Don was taken care of, then it would be Charlie's turn, and David knew exactly how that little runt would die. Slowly, painfully and with the full knowledge that his brother had allowed this to happen to him, that Don hadn't and didn't care for him enough to protect him.

The look on Charlie's face as he died would be priceless and payment enough if David was caught before he left the country.

As David fingered the keys to the van he whispered, "Soon Donnie boy, it will be all over, all over for you and your brother."

With conviction David got into the van, started the engine and left the small compound to deliver the 'confidential files' to the FBI office, curtesy of the 'Law Office' in Santa Barbara.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Two hours later a steady stream of voices filtered through to living room as Alan and Don sat watching a television show titled _Mystery Science Theater 3000_.

Don wore a smile on his face while Alan hurridly sipped on his iced tea before the next riff from Mike and the bots would make him spit out his iced tea.

"Here you take it, fat man!" The main charactor in the movie said to this big fat man who was sitting in the car.

"And yes there is a meal!" Tom Servo, who was one of the riffers in the show said.

At this, Don and Alan both chuckled.

When the car on t.v. pulled started to full away, the fat man waved his hand and one of the robot's said, "To Wendy's."

Don started laughing in ernest as the movie continued.

"This is the worst film I have ever seen." Alan said as the show went to a commerical break.

Don, through teary eyes, looked at his father. "What, _Overdrawn at the Memory Bank?_ That is nothing compared to _Manos: The Hands of Fate_, talk about a movie with absolutly no plot whatsoever, and that movie would have to be it!" Don said as he sipped his beer.

As they both settled down, Don glaced at the kitchen where Charlie still was.

"You still worried about him?" Alan asked.

"Yeah, arn't you?" Don asked.

"Of course I'm worried, but being worried isn't going to change anything." Alan replied.

"It's just that.." Don broke off, for he had not told his father exactly what had happened at CalSci.

"Just what Donnie?" Alan Eppes asked his son.

"Nothin'." Don replied as he rose up and headed in to the kitchen.

--------------------

"Hey buddy, what's up?" Don asked his younger brother as he entered the kitchen.

Charlie didn't answer, he just sat there looking straight ahead. The lead pencil still clutched tightly in his hand.

"Chuck, you alright?" Don asked worriedly as he turned to look at his brother.

"It almost happened again." Charlie murmed as his gaze ran over the pencil that he still held tightly in his grasp.

With a sigh, Don knew exactly what Charlie was talking about.

"When that bullet hit the board, I thought it was over, I thought I was dead, then today, when that bullet whizzed by my head..." Charlie broke off, unwilling to continue.

"I know how you feel buddy, I mean I face that stuff everyday, but I don't let it get me down, I don't let it win. You can't let it win either." Don said as he touched Charlie's shoulder.

"It's so hard sometimes. I know it's a statistical improbability of this happening again, but...things change when we're dealing with a sniper." Charlie murmered.

"I know Charlie, but I swear to you I won't allow that sniper to get to you. I will always look out for and protect you." Don said with conviction.

"You can't promise that Don. You can't promise with absolute certainty that you will be able to protect me, but I trust you." Charlie replied with a little grin.

"That's it, that's the Charlie I remember." Don said as he ruffled Charlie's curly hair.

Charlie tried to get away from Don's hand, so he stood up from his chair, with Don following suit.

"Come on, let's go in and finish the movie." He suggested.

"Which one is it?" Charlie asked as he meandered over to the fridge, looking for something to drink.

"The Mistied version of _Overdrawn at the Memory Bank."_ Don replied.

"The what version?" Charlie asked.

"Come on, you mean to tell me that you have never heard of _Mystery Science Theater 3000?_" Don asked.

"Uh...no." Charlie replied.

"Come on in. You have got to see this." Don said as he led Charlie into the living room.

"Ah...ok." Charlie replied as he sat down between his father and brother.

-----------------------------

A/N: _Mystery Science Theater 3000_ is a real show with the following charactors: Mike Nelson, Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo. And two of the many movies that the show made fun of were in fact _Manos: The Hands of Fate_ and _Overdrawn at the Memory Bank_.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The next day Don entered the main office and went straight to his desk.

There sitting right next to his computer was the file he had been waiting on.

"Finally!" He muttered as he sat down in his somewhat creaky chair and grabbed the file.

Opening it up, Don muttered the top line of the file.

"John L. Picard. Suspected of drug dealing, assult against a child and terrorism."

After reading the first page, Don was sorely convinced that this John L. Picard belonged in the nut house!

Not just for his safety but also for the others around him.

"Hey Don." Megan greeted as she joined him at his desk.

"Hey Megan." Don replied as he rested the file on his lap.

Looking up at Megan he asked, "Learn anything new about the bullet?"

By the look on Don's face Megan could tell which bullet he meant.

"No. Ballistics are still looking it over. They should have some information soon." She replied.

"Good, good." Don muttered as he rubbed his index finger against his mouth while he thought back to his brother.

After _Mystery Science Theater 3000_ had ended, Don and Charlie had stayed up till 2:00 talking about what had happened at the house and at CalSci.

Charlie had made it clear that he did not want to go back to his classroom anytime soon, and Don couldn't blame him..

Heck, if he was in Charlie's shoes, he'd probably be as scared as Charlie!

When 8:45 rolled around, Charlie had come plodding down the stairs in his bathrobe, with a full head of bed hair.

Don had tried not to laugh at these two strands of Charlie's hair that stood straight up.

Charlie, who was still half asleep had no idea that his hair looked like this, so he calmly walked by Don and headed for his morning cup of coffee.

"That's another reason why you should cut your hair, Charlie." Don said as he continued to watch his brother.

Charlie placed his hand over his mouth as he yawned, before he said, "What are you talkin' about, Don?"

"You're hair! I mean, it looks..um..." Don said as Charlie looked at his reflection in the kitchen window.

For almost a minute Charlie stared at his wild and wooly hair before he nearly ran to the sink, splashed cold water in his hands and used the water to smooth down his hair.

Don smiled at the memory, unaware that Megan was still watching him.

"What's so funny, Don?" She asked as she got a look at the file Don had in his lap.

"Oh, it's Charlie. When he got up this morning, he gave a new meaning to the term 'bed hair.'." Don said.

"That bad, huh?" Megan asked.

"Worse! I should have taken a picture of it!" Don replied.

Megan chuckled when David ran in to the room hurridly.

"Don, Megan. Victor CarMichael has some news he's willing to share with us!" David said.

"Victor CarMichael...the drug lord?" Don asked, scarcely believing David's words.

"The one and only! He says he knows who's behind the latest attacks, and where the next one is going to take place." David said.

The attacks were bombings on local federal buildings. Terrorism had been suspected at first, but with the evidence provided, terrorism was finally ruled out.

Numerous times in the case, Don had wished that he could bring Charlie in, but the need to protect his brother was greater than the need to bring him in, so Don convienantly left Charlie out of the loop, in the hopes that in doing so, Charlie would remain safe.

"Great! Let's go talk to him!" Don said as he leapt up from his chair and went to the elevators, followed closely by Megan.

----------------

A/N: Ok, the plot is progressing! I know the last couple of chapters didn't have much in the way of an onward plot, but it has changed.

Also, I know this was kind of a short chapter, sorry about that, but I wanted this chapter to be mostly about Don instead of having both Don and Charlie, so that's the reason it was so short.

Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. Also, from now on I will hopefully be adding some 'previews' of the upcoming chapters.

----------------------

Chapter Seven previews

Don gulped as the feeling in the pit of his stomach grew stronger. The feeling that told him he was in over his head.

Suddenly a door banged open and shots rang out.

One agent dropped to the ground, a bullet hole in his chest.

Alan looked sadly at his youngest son as he whispered, "Charlie, the phone call was about you're brother. He was shot."

"How bad?" Charlie asked.

Alan hung his head as he replied, "Bad."

"Hope you liked the show Eppsie, because you're next!" The assassin said to Charlie, who grew as pale as the white bedspread he lay on.

--------------------------------------------------------------


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Don and his team arrived at the drug dealer's base of operations swiftly.

In record time they had left the car and approached the building, unaware of the sniper that was waiting for them at the top of the building across the street.

Don had his hands at his sides as he entered the building first with Megan and David at his heels.

What would make Don happy at the moment would be to have his gun sitting in the palm of his hands, but he knew that if he wanted things to go smoothly here at this little meet and greet thing, then the gun would have to stay where it was.

"Where was Mr. CarMichael supposed to be?" Don asked.

"In the next room." David replied as he glanced around the place.

"Alright." Don said as he began to walk.

As he approached the door on the far side he began to acutely notice the lack of noise from inside the building. Normally you would expect it to be a little noisy, but there was only silence.

'_Something doesn't feel right.'_ Don told himself as he stopped a couple of feet from the door leading into the next room.

"Don, what's wrong?" David asked as he watched his boss stop.

"David, you ever get the feeling that something bad is gonna happen?" Don asked.

"Sometimes. Why? You gettin' that feeling?" David asked.

"Yeah." Don replied.

His hands itched to go for his gun, and deciding to air on the side of caution, he tugged out his pistol.

Glancing around the building, Don shivered as he realized there were so many good places for an ambush.

An ambush he may have just brought upon himself.

Don gulped as the feeling in the pit of his stomach grew stronger. The feeling that told him he was in over his head.

Suddenly a door banged open and shots rang out in the quietness of the building.

One agent dropped to the ground, a bullet hole in his chest.

"AGENT DOWN, REPEAT, WE HAVE AN AGENT DOWN!" David yelled into his walkie-talkie as he had taken cover behind some covered tables.

Peeking out, David could see Don laying on the floor, not moving and apparently not breathing either.

The shooter who had just Don was nowhere to be seen either, but David feared that instead of hanging around, the shooter had left.

With a quick glance at the door, David made his way over to his team captain and boss to check out his injuries.

-----------------------------------------------

David Ballard laughed as he threw his Uzi into the metal garbage container outside.

It had been so easy to shoot Don, and the FBI men would never know it was him!

"One down, one to go." He muttered as he got into his Porche, started the engine and drove off.

Glancing down, David smiled as he saw his sniper rifle, which was in a metal box, which happened to be sitting on the floor of his car.

Chuckling to himself, David took out his cell-phone, activated the scrambler and then dialed Charlie's number.

----------------------------------------------

Alan looked up from his cards and glanced at Charlie who looked slightly bored.

"What's the matter Charlie?" Alan asked.

"Dad, this is a kids game. It's way to easy!" Charlie replied, motioning to his own cards.

"Son, Skip Bo is supposed to be easy. Would you rather we play Scrabble instead?" Alan asked.

Charlie glanced up at his father, horrified that Alan should even mention the word Scrabble!

It was widely known that Charlie was one of the worlds worst Scrabble players, since he was a really bad speller.

The night when he had misspelled anomaly came to his mind.

Alan and Don had siked him out, by telling him he had misspelled the word.

Charlie, getting aggrivated, wasn't paying attention and had allowed Alan to beat him at Chess.

The final embaressing kicker was when Don had laid the dictionary on the table infront of Charlie and said, "That's one O, Charlie."

Charlie had glanced at the dictionary before asking, "Is this a reliable dictionary?"

That statement had cracked up both Don and Alan.

A few minutes later, Don had recieved a call sending him back to work.

As he was leaving, Charlie said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of the old man."

Once Don had shut the door Alan had said, "Old man?"

Charlie glanced up at his father before replying, "I use it strickly as a term of indearment, father."

Alan had gone on by threatening to get out the Scrabble board, to which Charlie hurriedly replied, "Sc..Scrabble's missing a piece!"

The ringing of the home phone brought Charlie up from his musings.

Looking up, Charlie watched his father answer it, and within ten seconds, Alan Eppes had gone quite pale.

"Dad, what is it?" Charlie asked as he rose from the table and went over to his father.

Alan looked sadly at his youngest son as he whispered, "Charlie, the phone call was about you're brother. He was shot."

"How bad?" Charlie asked.

Alan hung his head as he replied, "Bad."

Charlie didn't know what to say about this news, so he did the only thing he could do.

He turned, ran upstairs to his room and threw himself onto his bed as the tears streamed down his face.

Within five minutes, Charlie's cell-phone rang.

Snatching up the cell-phone in the hopes that it was Don who was calling, Charlie glanced at the unknown caller ID.

Hitting send, Charlie brought the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" He said.

The line was clear for a minute before a sinister voice said.

"Why hello there, Professer Eppes."

Charlie gulped, not liking this man's manner at all.

"Who is this?" Charlie asked.

The man just laughed at Charlie's question before he continued on with his message.

"Hope you liked the show Eppsie, because you're next!" The assassin said to Charlie, who grew as pale as the white bedspread he lay on.

Charlie realized that the man who had called him must have been the man who had shot Donnie!

Swiftly, Charlie hung up, tossed the phone away and buried his face in his pillow, terrified for his brother and for himself.

What Charlie didn't know was that the sniper was getting himself in to position to deliver the final blow to the Eppes family, by taking out Professer Charles Eppes.

-----------------

A/N: Another chapter completed. Hope this is ok with everyone.

Also, thanks for the reviews everyone, they are really appreciated!

--------------------------------

Chapter Eight Previews

BANG!

"Oh my gosh, Charlie!" Alan said as he rushed up the stairs to his youngest son's bedroom.

"Donnie, you have to hang on, you have to fight this. Not just for my sake, but for you're brother's as well. He needs you right now." Alan whispered as he clutched Don's pale hand tightly.

"FLAT LINE!" The doctor yelled as he turned to his nurse.

"Paddles!" He requested.

Turning back to his dark haired patient, the doctor readied the paddles.

"CLEAR!" He yelled.


	8. Chapter 8

BANG!

The noise brought Alan out of his musings and he raced up the stairs towards Charlie's bedroom, just dreading what he would find.

The news about Don had shocked Charlie, heck it had even shocked himself, but the only thing he could do for Don was to be there for him.

"Oh my gosh, Charlie!" Alan said as he rushed up the stairs to his youngest son's bedroom.

Looking in the bedroom, Alan saw the broken glass and Charlie lying on his bed sleeping, or that's what it looked like.

Suddenly a red blossom of blood appeared on Charlie's shirt and quickly saturated the bluish shirt in blood.

"CHARLIE!" Alan said as he rushed over to Charlie's side.

Charlie was barely breathing and his lips had a bluish tinge to them.

Thinking fast, Alan grabbed his cellphone, flipped it open and dialed 911.

After two rings the dispatcher took his call.

It took nearly four minutes for Alan to explain what had happened.

"Alright sir, an ambulance has been dispatched to your location." The dispatcher informed him.

Alan nodded his head as he glanced at his son again.

"He's getting worse!" Alan said worriedly.

"Please calm down sir. We all understand how you feel." The dispatcher said calmly.

Alan, who was near tears almost didn't hear the wail of sirens as the ambulance pulled up and stopped outside the house.

Quickly, he closed the cellphone and dashed downstairs.

Charlie, who had lain there on the bed quietly, suddenly felt very sorry for his father.

He didn't want his father seeing him like this, because Charlie suspected that his father would loose it, just as he had already done.

Within minutes the paramedics entered the room carrying their equipment in the stretcher.

The lead paramedic stood by Charlie as he removed the bloody shirt and examined the wound.

"Hand me that oxygen!" The paramedic said to his partner, who reached over and handed the other man the oxygen bottle.

The dark haired paramedic slipped the oxygen mask over Charlie's face and ajusted the flow of oxygen before he set to work patching up the wound before transport to the hospital.

----------------------------------------------

When Alan arrived at the hospital, there were doctors and nurses swiftly walking everywhere.

After asking several people, Alan just took a seat in the waiting room, since no one would tell him where his son's were.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the door to the waiting room opened and a docter in a white lab coat stepped out and said, "Is anyone here for Charlie Eppes?"

Swiftly, Alan stood and made his way over to the doctor.

"I'm Alan Eppes. I'm Charlie's father." Alan said shakily.

The doctor nodded sympathatically as he turned and said, "Please follow me."

Alan followed the doctor to one of the rooms where inside Charlie was being attended to by several of the nurses.

"Mr. Eppes, we have gotten your son stabilized for now, but we're still waiting for an OR to remove the bullet. He is not out of danger yet, not by any stretch of the imaginitation." The doctor said as he glanced at his patient.

"What about my other son? Don Eppes?" Alan asked.

"Ah yes him. He's stabilized but he's in a coma at the moment. He's in room 207 if you would like to see him." The doctor said as he pointed down the hall.

Nodding, Alan took one glance at his youngest son before he turned and walked down the hall to visit Don.

---------------------------

_'He's so still...so very still.'_ Alan thought as he gazed at Don's features.

The oldest Eppes son was lying there in the bed, eyes closed with an oxygen cannula still attached to his nose to help pump the oxygen into his system.

Two normal saline IV's were attached to Don's arms to give him as much help as his body required.

_'He looks so much like my wife.'_ He thought as slowly, timidly he reached out a hand and clutched at Don's slack hand.

"Donnie, you have to hang on, you have to fight this. Not just for my sake, but for you're brother's as well. He needs you right now." Alan whispered.

He had never been one for crying, but right now there was not one thing in this world that could stop the tears from falling from Alan's face.

--Meanwhile--

"Sir, his blood pressure is dropping." A nurse said worriedly to Charlie's doctor as he gazed at the chart.

The doctor looked up at Charlie's still form as the cardiac monitor, which had showed a steady heart rythem, suddenly went flat!

"FLAT LINE!" The doctor yelled as he started the chest compressions on his patient, in a vain attempt to save him.

He knew that Charlie could very well die before an OR opened up, and if he didn't get the boy stabilized soon, Charlie would die!

Turning to his nurses he said, "Paddles!"

One pair of hands grabbed the paddles, while another pair grabbed the gel and squirted it on the paddles.

One nurse handed the paddles to the doctor who quickly rubbed them together before applying the paddles to Charlie's chest.

"CLEAR!" He yelled as he let go with the charge.

Charlie's body jerked upwards as the electricity flowed through his body.

"Again!" The doctor ordered when no change was apparent.

"Charging!" The nurse said as she watched the paddles recharge.

Within seconds the doctor was zapping Charlie again.

_'Come on Charlie, don't do this!'_ The doctor silently pleaded with his patient as his eyes flew to the cardiac monitor to see if they had a heart beat.

A small smile flew to his face when a weak heartbeat was seen.

"We got'em back. Nurse Ringers Lactate." The doctor said.

The nurse walked over to the medication cabinite and grabbed an IV bag before walking back over to Charlie.

Within seconds the IV had been started and was dripping the solution that would hopefully prevent further shock to Charlie's system.

Clearing his throat, Dr. Craig turned to his nurse and said, "Nurs London, let me know when an OR is avalible. This young man doesn't have that much more time to waste."

"Yes sir, right away." Nurse Susan London replied as she left the room to fulfill the doctor's request.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

While David Ballard was waiting to board a plane out of the state, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder.

Whirling around he found a 9mm pistol pointed at his face with a young FBI agent looking at him angerily.

"David Ballard, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Special Agent Don Eppes, and Professor Charles Eppes." Colby said.

David turned and was about to run but he was stopped with a knee to his stomach.

"Bad move Ballard." Megan said as she landed on top of him and quickly cuffed him.

"How'd you find me?" David asked as he was roughly pulled to his feet.

"Your car. We got the lisence plate, found out you were the owner, and then checked with the students at Cal Sci. Seems quite a number of students remember you were there when you shot at Charlie that night." Megan said.

David rolled his eyes, but that earned him a shove by Colby.

"If either Don or Charlie die, I will see to it that you are put away for your natural life." Colby said through clentched teeth as he lead David Ballard outside to the patrol car.

Actually, finding David as fast as they had, had been a stroke of luck.

Since he had recently bought the car, they didn't have to dig much to find the records, then there was the trip to CalSci.

At first no one had recognized the car, but then one girl stepped forward and admitted seeing the car the night Charlie was shot at.

She also admitted seeing a man, carrying a breifcase jump out of a tree, get into the car and drive off.

With that information, it had taken only minutes to see if the car was David's.

After confirming their suspicions, they had ordered everyone to watch the airports and bus terminals, knowing that he would want to leave the country as soon as possible.

Finding him at the local airport was also another stroke of luck on Megan's part.

She and Colby had searched everywhere and asked around.

They had been just about to leave when Megan had spotted David, sitting on a couch reading the newspaper.

When David rose up to board his plane, Megan and Colby followed him.

They had stopped him just as he had handed his ticket to the airport worker.

After the police car sped away, Colby rejoined Megan in the FBI Chevy Trail Blazer.

"Any word on Don?" Colby asked.

"No. I tried to call Mr. Eppes, but he's not answering the phone, and I'm not even about to try the hospital." Megan replied.

"Well, let's swing by there on our way to the office." Colby suggested.

Megan thought about Colby's suggestion, decided it had merit and furthermore, decided that she would do just that.

-------------------------------------------

A low moan signaled that Don was slowly waking up.

With great effort Don opened his eyes and lazily looked around the room.

He quickly spotted his father sitting in a chair, snoring softly, but what slightly worried Don was that he didn't see Charlie!

Glancing at his father, Don whispered, "Dad...Dad.."

Alan Eppes woke with a start and smiled when he saw that at least one of his son's was awake!

"Donny!" Alan said happily as he gazed lovingly at his son.

"Dad..where's Charlie?" Don whispered.

At the mention of Charlie, Alan's face fell.

Don could tell from the way Alan avoided his gaze, that something was seriously wrong.

"Dad?" Don asked.

"Your brother was shot. He's in surgury right now so the doctors can repair what they can, but...they don't hold out much hope that he will survive." Alan said sadly.

Don just stared at his father in silence.

In a million years, Don had never expected to hear those words from his father's lips.

Closing his eyes, Don mourned.

He mourned for Charlie, and beat himself up over the fact that he had failed Charlie.

He had failed to keep his young, innocent brother safe, and now Charlie was fighting a battle for his life...and losing.

--------------------------------------

A/N: Thank you all for being so patient with me.

I really didn't mean for it to take this long to get this chapter out, but here it is at last.

Injoy!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

The door to Don's room opened to admit a white haired doctor in hospital scrubs.

Both Alan and Don watched the doctor as he approached them.

"We did all we could for your son, Mr. Eppes. Now, it's up to him." Dr. Jackson said to Alan.

"Doctor, let's put this polite talk aside. I want you to tell me the truth about my son." Alan replied evenly.

Dr. Sean Jackson sighed as he looked down at the tile floor for a second before looking back up into the worried eyes of the eldest Eppes.

"Along with the damage already apparent, the bullet knicked some blood vessels, which almost caused him to bleed out. As it stands now, the shock of the bullet, plus the surgury caused his left lung to collaspe. We currently have him on life support, but we don't have high hopes for him." Dr. Jackson said.

This news caused Alan to drop into his chair as his legs buckled.

Don and watched and heard the whole thing, and from the look on the doctor's face, Don knew he was hiding something else.

"What's the rest of it doc?" Don asked.

The doctor looked at Don for a second, judging the man in the bed, before he replied, "Charlie's heart is close to failing. If he goes into cardiac arrest again, I don't think we'll be able to bring him back."

Alan shut his eyes as the tears ran down his cheeks.

Don, however was stronger and somehow managed to keep the tears at bay.

"Again?" He asked.

"He arrested once on the operating table. That was when my nurses found it." Dr. Jackson said.

"Found what?" Don asked, giving the doctor an angry look that said he'd better speak up or suffer the wrath of Don Eppes!

"Your brother has a heart murmur. Even if he hadn't been shot, in a few more years the condition would have made itself known anyway." Dr. Jackson replied.

At this news Don paled.

A heart murmur? Charlie? It didn't seem possible!

"Can't you do anything about it?" Don asked.

"At this late stage, no. Charlie's to weak to survive the surgury nessessary to repair the heart murmur. We will have to wait and see what happens." Dr. Jackson said.

"You can't just sit here and do nothing! My brother's life is at stake!" Don said, getting quite angry.

"Mr. Eppes, please calm down." Dr. Jackson soothed.

"Calm down! My brother's out there dieing, and you want me to calm down!" Don snarled.

"The price of doing something now could cost your brother his life!" Dr. Jackson said bluntly.

That news shut Don up and made him focus on the doctor.

Finally, he asked, "Can we see him?"

"Arrangements are being made to have you moved into his room." Dr. Jackson acknowledged.

Don nodded his head in thanks as the doctor turned and left the room.

Don glanced at his father who had his head in his hands, the tears still streaming down his face.

"Dad?" Don asked.

"I never thought that something like this was possible." Alan murmured, more to himself than to Don.

Don didn't want to see his father beat himself up over something that wasn't his fault, so Don reached out an IV tubed hand to touch his father's shoulder.

"Dad, don't do this. It wasn't your fault." Don said.

Alan however wouldn't listen. He just wallowed in his grief.

Finally Don gestured to the door and said, "Go see him dad. Go see him for the both of us."

Alan rose shakily and walked to the door.

Turning he asked, "Are you sure, Donny?"

Don plastered a smile on to his face as he replied,"Yeah, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Nodding, Alan then left the room.

Once his father was gone, Don allowed the tears to stream down his face.

Whenever he was alone, he never had a problem letting his grief show, but when he was in public, at home or in the office, he had to be the strong one, the supporter of the weaker citizens.

"Oh...Charlie. I'm so sorry, buddy." Don murmured as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

While he waited for transportation to his brother's room, Don laid his head back and listened to the bustle of activity outside.

Suddenly, almost imperceptivaly, Don could sense that bustle become wilder as the PA system called all doctors to a code blue in ICU.

With a sinking feeling, Don was almost certain that they were talking about Charlie.

The tears streamed down his face with renewed vigor.

"Come back buddy...you hear me? Come back." Don whispered, as if Charlie could hear him.

As the sounds continued outside his door, Don closed his eyes tightly and tried to picture himself somewhere else.

Somewhere safe with his brother.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

When a gurney came into the room, Don didn't give any indication that he was aware of it.

But when they took him out of his room and headed towards the ICU, Don cracked one eye open as he was pushed into the room.

There on one bed was Charlie, still hooked up to the machines, and still alive.

Alan was sitting by Charlie's bed, watching the doctor's get Don situated in the one remaning bed in the room.

Once they were done, they left.

Don just sat up as straight as he could, his eyes never leaving his brother's still form.

"Charlie." Don muttered in disbelief as he took in all of the machines that his brother was hooked up to.

He knew it was to much to hope that Charlie would answer back, but when he didn't, Don nearly lost it.

How had this happened? How had everything come to this?

Don was supposed to always be there to protect Charlie, he had promised his younger brother, hadn't he?

Well, he had just failed that promise, miserably.

Alan knew that Don was beating himself up when he had no call to.

Walking over to his oldest son, he laid a supporting hand on Don's shoulder.

Don smiled gratefully at his father, happy that his father understood what he needed.

But then, more than anything, Don needed to see his brother's eyes. Hear his clear voice, see his sweet smile.

Clearing his throat, Don laid back down and closed his eyes, hoping that the light of day would bring along some changes.

--------------------

One Week Later

Don was sitting in the hospital chair listening to the radio as his gaze shifted from his brother, to the bed, to the tile, and back.

The local radio station, unbelievably was playing a song from _Mystery Science Theater 3000_, which had been in one of the movies.

Which one, Don couldn't remember exactly, but he remembered the song.

After the song ended, a new song began. One that Don also knew.

The song had been one of his mother's favorites.

Why, Don didn't know, his mother just liked it!

_"It's Friday night in a parking lot behind the DewDrop Inn._

_There's Dwight and Dwaine, and Jimmy James the best and worst of friends._

_They don't behave like they were raised to act like mom and dad._

_Hold on them good ole' boys are bad." _The artist sang.

Don closed his eyes as he imagined his mom singing along to the song.

_"Sippin' whiskey from a Dixie cup and lyin..ta each other till long past sunup_

_Playin studs for two weeks pay...but that's ok._

_They wake up late and have to ask what kind of time they had._

_Hold on Them Good Ole' Boys are Bad."_

The tears threatened to come as he thought of his mother, but he held them back as the song continued.

_"The laides come the laides go they never seem to stay._

_The boys will give em' plenty but they won't give their hearts away._

_When they leave at least they leave unsatisfied not sad _

_Hold on them good ole' boys are bad._

_Sippin' whiskey from a Dixie cup and lyin...ta each other till long past sunup_

_Playin studs for two weeks pay...but that's ok._

_They wake up late and have to ask what kind of time they had._

_Hold on Them Good Ole' Boys are Bad."_

A slight tapping on the bed turned Don's attention to his brother, who was awake and tapping his index finger in time with the music.

"Charlie?" Don asked.

Charlie smiled at his brother lovingly..

It was the same goofy smile that Don had come to love.

When Charlie had been taken off life support two days ago, Don had expected the worst, but disspite all the odds, his younger brother had kept breathing on his own!

When the artist began to sing again, both Charlie and Don sang along, though Don's voice was slightly stronger than Charlie's.

"They wake up late and have to ask what kind of time they had.

Hold on Them Good Ole' Boys are bad.

But baby they ain't growin up, they're only growin ole'.

Cuz' underneath the outlaw skin there beats a heart of gold.

They need their fun cuz' everyone's a school of hard luck grad's.

Hold on them good ole' boys ain't bad.

Sippin' whiskey from a Dixie cup and lyin..ta each other till long past sunup

Playin studs for two weeks pay...but that's ok.

They wake up late and have to ask what kind of time they had.

Hold on Them Good Ole' Boys are Bad.

Hold on Them Good Ole' Boys are Bad.

Hold on Them Good Ole' Boys are Bad." Both Eppes boy's sang.

As the song ended, Don reached over and hugged Charlie, who returned the hug as best he could.

Not two seconds later, the door opened and Alan walked in.

"What's goin' on in here? I heard singing when I was out in the ha..." Alan said, before he realized Charlie was awake.

Alan rushed over to Charlie's side to check out his son for himself, while Don just sat back in his chair and smiled.

Everything was returning to normal.

His brother was alive and concious, though he still would have to go back and have his heart murmur taken care of, though the doctor had assured them that the odds of success were good, now that Charlie was finally on the mend.

Yep, things were right with the world, and Don wouldn't have it any other way.

------------------------------------------------

A/N:

Well there you have it. The story's basically complete.

I might add a epilogue if you all want one, it just depends.

Let me know what you think, and want and I will try and do my best to meet it.


	12. Epilogue

Epilogue

Charlie leaned heavily on Don as Alan opened the door to the house.

Slowly, Don helped Charlie inside and to the couch, which was much closer than Charlie's own bed, which was up a flight of stairs Don didn't want to tackle at the moment.

Grunting slightly, Don helped Charlie onto the couch.

It had been one week since Charlie had woken up, and he had just been released that morning.

In two weeks he would have to return to the hospital for a check up and to schedule the surgury to take care of his heart murmur, but other than that, good ole' Charlie Eppes was back.

"Can I get you anything?" Alan asked as he joined his two sons in the living room.

Charlie cracked one eye open as he replied, "Yeah. Could ya get big brother to stop hoverin' over me."

"Big brother?" Don asked, imitating Charlie's annoyed tone as he placed both hands on his hips.

Charlie cracked a smile before he shut his eyes.

Don, however, shook his head and headed into the kitchen with Alan following close behind.

While the eldest Eppes man prepared a wonderful dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread, Don returned to the couch, a glass of four day old V8 in hand.

Sitting down across from Charlie, Don tapped him on the shoulder, startling the younger man awake.

"Sorry, but the doc insisted ya drink this stuff." Don said, handing him the glass.

Gingerly Charlie took the glass and sniffed at it's contents.

His face wrinkled in disgust as he tried to clear the smell from his nose.

"Smells awful! People really drink this stuff!" Charlie said, grimacing.

"Fraid so, buddy." Don replied.

With a grimace still on his face, Charlie timidly took a small sip, and the instant his taste buds went to work, the V8 came back up to end up all over Don's nice, clean shirt.

Don glanced down at the red tomato sauce that now decorated his shirt with small, red poka dots.

"Sorry Don, but this stuff is nasty." Charlie said, setting the glass down with his pink tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Grabbing a kleenex, Don proceeded to clean himself up as best he could.

When Alan brought out three salads for them to enjoy, he had just crossed the threshold into the living area when he tripped over his shoe!

All three bowls of salad flew everywhere!

Some of the lettuce hit the floor, some the ceiling, some stuck on Don's jacket and some stuck to the top of Charlie's head! Smearing ranch dressing in his brownish hair.

Don took one look at his brother before he burst out laughing.

Charlie however, was not amused.

Slowly he took the ranch covered piece of lettuce out of his hair, hefted it and then threw it at Don.

The piece smacked the FBI agent right in the face, smearing dressing all over his face and shirt.

Don stopped laughing and glared at Charlie, who was wiping the tears of laughter from his face.

Looking around, Don found a big pile of lettuce on the floor. Reaching down he scooped it up and threw it at Charlie, and soon enough a major food fight had begun between the two brothers.

To say that Alan was dissipointed in his sons acting like three year olds was an understatement. He had to jerk Don to his feet to get the older man to listen to him.

"Donald Eppes, what do you think you are doing? You and your brother are making a mess of everything!" Alan said, gesturing to the food covered living area.

Don's eyes roved around the room, looking at the dressing covered walls, paintings and furniture.

"Now, I am going in there to fix the spaghetti, and when I come out, I expect to see nothing but you two as you both clean up this room! Remove all of the food and hand wash the furniture, paintings and walls." Alan said.

Don blushed and nodded his head.

After he had entered the kitchen, Don and Charlie looked at each other and said in unison, "You clean it!"

A smile broke out on Don and Charlie's face, and soon they were laughing merrily as they grabbed some paper towels and began to clean the room.

Finally, when they were done, Alan called them to dinner.

After a few minutes of munching on the spaghetti, Don cleared his throat and asked, "So Charlie, when do ya need to go back to the doctor's?"

"Two weeks for a check up and to plan the next surgury. Why do you ask?" Charlie asked.

"Just wondering." Don replied as he stuffed more spaghetti into his mouth.

Charlie was about to speak, but that was before he caught a glimpse of Don. Spaghetti hanging out of his mouth as he tried to bite off the ends.

Charlie couldn't contain himself and his laughter filled the entire house.

When Don figured out Charlie was laughing at him, he blushed, just as the excess spaghetti finally fell back onto his plate.

This earned him a weird glance from his father, and a small twinkle from Charlie.

Don looked from one to the other before he too, burst out laughing.

After dinner, the boys washed the dishes before settling down in front of the television.

Well, Charlie and Alan did.

Don was standing by the DVD shelf, which was crammed full of DVD's.

"What'cha want to watch Charlie? We have _Mystery Science Theater 3000, MacGyver Seasons 1-4, The Day After Tomorrow.._" Don said, listing the movie or television show choices.

While he was still listing them, Charlie inturrupted him by saying, "_The Dukes of Hazzard._"

Don turned around and looked at Charlie curiously.

"Never figured you for a Duke fan, Charlie." Don said as he focused his gaze on the seasons of the _Dukes of Hazzard_ that they had.

"Which season? We have 1-3, and season 6." Don said.

Charlie thought about it before he said, "Season 6. Play the first episode."

Don nodded his head and grabbed the sixth season box set.

After loading the disc into the player, all three Eppes men settled down on the couch to watch the episode.

As the Balladeer began to speak, Don smiled and looked over at his father and Charlie, who were both staring at the t.v. screen, smiling as they watched the episode previews as seen through the eyes of the Balladeer, Waylon Jennings.

_'It's so good to be home. Especially with Charlie here. Life just wouldn't be the same without him.'_ Don thought as he studied his brother.

Don watched as Charlie's smile grew bigger and a small chuckle escape his lips.

_'Yep, Charlie and me, working together. That's the way it has been, and that's the way it should be. We're a team, and we look out for each other.'_ With that promise sealed, Don turned back to the televison screen as the theme song started.

"_Just a Good Ole' Boys. Never meanin' no harm._

_Beats all you never saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they was born."_

After that, Don began to whistle the rest of the tune, which Charlie joining in.

Don was faintly suprised that Charlie even knew how to whistle!

_"Straghtnin' the curves. Flattin' the hills._

_Someday the mountain might get em' but the law never will._

_"Makin' they're way the only way they know how._

_That's just a little bit more than the law will allow._

_Just a Good Ole' Boys, wouldn't change if they could._

_Fighten the system like true modern day Robin Hoods."_

As the theme song ended, Don and Charlie smiled at each other for a second.

They were both home, and the assassin who had tried to kill them was in jail.

Yep, things were right with the world, and Don Eppes wouldn't have it any other way.

THE END

--------------

A/N:

This is for all of you who requested an epilogue.

Hope this is to your liking. I did my best to add a 'family moment' and I hope this works.

Catch you all on the flip side, and for those of you who are thinking about the heart murmur bit, don't worry, I plan on making a sequal, devoted to that subject.

Signed,

Numb3rsfan


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